A women's boxing event in South Africa, billed as a sequel to the 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle", has been cancelled.

Boxer Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, was to have defended her title in a bout against Gwendolyn O'Neill in Cape Town.

But the match was cancelled amid reports of a lack of money.

The famous 1974 event, in the then Zaire, saw Muhammad Ali make a comeback by defeating reigning heavyweight champion George Foreman.

Ms Ali has returned home to the United States.

Reports that the promoters of the fight were short of cash were highlighted earlier this week, when the sports ministry in Western Cape province received a fraudulent letter requesting a 5m rand ($700,000) bail-out for the event.

The letter purported to come from the national Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile, but turned out to be a fake.

Provincial sports ministry spokesman Mandla Yeki said the cancellation of the event should not harm Cape Town's reputation as a venue for international sporting events.

"Cape Town has proved its ability, we had Manchester United here and it was a huge success," he said.

"This (Ali fight) would have been a good match, but we have proved our ability on a number of occasions."